43 CFR §3809.11

1. (a)You must submit a plan of operations and obtain BLM's approval before beginning operations greater than casual use, except as described in § 3809.21. Also see §§ 3809.31 and 3809.400 through 3809.434.
2. (b)You must submit a plan of operations for any bulk sampling in which you will remove 1,000 tons or more of presumed ore for testing.
3. (c)You must submit a plan of operations for any operations causing surface disturbance greater than casual use in the following special status areas where § 3809.21 does not apply:
   1. (1)Lands in the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) designated by the CDCA plan as “controlled” or “limited” use areas;
   2. (2)Areas in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and areas designated for potential addition to the system;
   3. (3)Designated Areas of Critical Environmental Concern;
   4. (4)Areas designated as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System and administered by BLM;
   5. (5)Areas designated as “closed” to off-road vehicle use, as defined in § 8340.0-5 of this title;
   6. (6)Any lands or waters known to contain Federally proposed or listed threatened or endangered species or their proposed or designated critical habitat, unless BLM allows for other action under a formal land-use plan or threatened or endangered species recovery plan; and
   7. (7)National Monuments and National Conservation Areas administered by BLM.